First mood stabilizer Lamictal

[CoDieNOmore]

Hi all. I started my first mood stabilizer (Lamictal) and I just don't know what to expect. I've notice that the hills and valleys are not so high or low and I have only been on it for a week. But at the same time I seem to feel emotionally numb at times. Like I don't really feel anything. I'm wondering if this is just normal and it just feels numb because I have only known highs and lows all my life???
Thanks!!

[grateful2b]

Kendra, I have been taking a mood stabilizer(Lithium) for several years and my experience was that when I first started taking them I had that numb feeling that you speak of, but after a bit, it dissipated.....I'm glad to hear you are getting some support

[CoDieNOmore]

Thanks for replying... Can a med start working in only a week?

[grateful2b]

For me it was only a matter of days that I felt the anxiety and rawness subside and my moods started to level out little by little as the days went by..

[grateful2b]

Just want to add that everyone's experience with meds is a little different....

[CoDieNOmore]

Thanks!!!

[pgb]

I've tried lithium.... I sensed nothing. So they reviewed my bipolar condition to maybe just depression. After a while I had another maniac episode so they gave me Lamictal. They said it was new and the best and I should sense something quite soon. Nothing changed after 2 months, like if I was taking a placebo. No side effect, nothing. So I quit and now i'm on Depakote (divalproex, valproate acid). Since then, my mood is stabilized for over a year now. It really depends of the person.

[Astro]

pgb, welcome to SR! It's good to have someone new sharing their experience on our Mental Health forums. Hope to hear more from you.

[pgb]

Originally Posted by Astro

pgb, welcome to SR! It's good to have someone new sharing their experience on our Mental Health forums. Hope to hear more from you.

[CoDieNOmore]

Welcome pgb!!!

I'm well into my 2nd week on the med. My skin feels irritated but I don't see any rash. They told me to stop the med if I started to get a rash. I think it's helping but not the magic pill that makes everything better. LOL Dang..... guess I still have to do self work to get to the truly better part....
Be Well

[pgb]

Originally Posted by CoDieNOmore

Welcome pgb!!!

I'm well into my 2nd week on the med. My skin feels irritated but I don't see any rash. They told me to stop the med if I started to get a rash. I think it's helping but not the magic pill that makes everything better. LOL Dang..... guess I still have to do self work to get to the truly better part....
Be Well

Yes lamictal can create rashes and even life threatening conditions. But if it had to happened, it would have happened. You seem good don't be scared. The skin thing passes after a few weeks.

[CoDieNOmore]

Thanks for the info..

[Cleansing]

Originally Posted by pgb

I've tried lithium.... I sensed nothing. So they reviewed my bipolar condition to maybe just depression. After a while I had another maniac episode so they gave me Lamictal. They said it was new and the best and I should sense something quite soon. Nothing changed after 2 months, like if I was taking a placebo. No side effect, nothing. So I quit and now i'm on Depakote (divalproex, valproate acid). Since then, my mood is stabilized for over a year now. It really depends of the person.

Yeah, im on Lithium right now. i'm pretty stable, just moments of anger here and there, but it's nthign strong, and it's not like I act out by taking it out on someoen or something. i did yell at my parents though like 3 weeks ago. But I chalk that up to letting go of the drugs mroe than anything.

I remember being on Depakote, and I definitly didn't have any anger issues or highs, but at the same time, i was always depressed. One of my therapists once told me that the problem with mood stabilizers is that if you experience depression alot, they sort of stop you from reaching a certain level of "high", so you might stay depressed longer. Something like that. I was also using hallucinogens and drinking a lot, so maybe that's why I was depressed. Eventually i found myself in the hospital because i became suicidal, and they took me off the depakote and put me on Lithium. I was never told why. I didn't really care either. I was just very depressed and stuck in a psych ward, I didn't care what they put me on.

But I guess that's what the antidepressants are for. Better to feel a little low now and then than to be manic.

[unholy_mess]

Yeah, I got a little irritation too when I first started on Lamictal. The real risks for the dangerous rash are within the first couple of weeks and with any large, rapid increases in dose (which is why they make you go through that INSANE step-up process to reach your full dose!) The rash in question, by the way, is called Stevens-Johnson Syndrome (SJS) and basically, the outer layer of skin separates from the inner layer--I know, that's hot. It's also accompanied by flu-like symptoms so just your general run-of-the-mill rash is not likely to be it.
And yes, it can work within a week...part of the reason they say to give it some time to get the full effect is due to the need to increase the dosage gradually. For some people a therapeutic dose is much lower than for others, so you could feel effects much sooner. Like, the typical dose is 200mg, I leveled off at 150mg.
I was a very, very lucky girl because Lamictal was the first thing we tried and it seemed to work. I got pretty depressed for a little while so we added Wellbutrin and then finally Seroquel for my insane insomnia but I didn't have to go through nearly as many combinations as some people.